1. Field
The present invention pertains to improved machines and in particular improved beater units for such machines which are used for preparing beaten, frozen products made from fruit juices or other liquid substances which may or may not contain suspended solids and in which the substances are subjected to a rapidly turning rotary beater at temperatures below the freezing point of the liquid substances.
2. State of the Art
Machines for making frozen confections in which a rotary agitation unit or beater is positioned vertically within an elongate, vertical, freezing chamber are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,622,411; 2,671,646; 2,649,974; 3,385,568; and 4,357,112. These machines all utilize various types of beater units including blades projecting into close proximity to the wall of the freezing chamber. While the rotary beater is turning, the ingredients of the frozen confectionary product which is to be prepared are introduced into the upper end of the elongate freezing chamber, and as the ingredients progress downwardly they are agitated violently by the blades of the rotary beater to an extent to form a frozen food product similar to ice cream by the time the beaten substance is discharged downwardly from the lower end of the freezing chamber into a cup or other receptacle.
The above patents disclose various means for attaching the blades of the rotary beater to the rotor. Because of the high speed operation of the rotary beater, the blades have to be sturdy, and the attachment of the blades must also be capable of withstanding the forces encountered during the high speed operation. Various means are disclosed for removably attaching the blades to the rotor, but in all the disclosed variations problems arise with the effort needed in cleaning and maintaining the beater units sanitary. Because of the various attachment means as used in the rotary beaters of the prior art, the beater units contain undesirable crevices and areas which are difficult to clean. The beater units require total disassembly which was of course is time and labor intensive.